EFFECT OF AUTHENTIC LEADERSHIP STYLE ON EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT IN PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS, MURANG’A COUNTY, KENYA
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14738/assrj.511.5473Keywords:
Authentic Leadership, employee engagement, Teachers, School PrincipalsAbstract
ABSTRACTThis study sought to examine the effect of employee authentic leadership style on employee engagement in public secondary schools of Murang’a County in Kenya. A survey research design was employed. The target population was 3,860 teachers. Systematic random sampling followed by use of random numbers were applied to sample 368 respondents in 306 Public Secondary Schools. Data analysis was carried out using descriptive statistical methods that provide measures of central tendency like the mean, standard deviation and percentages to describe the characteristics of the variables of interest in the study. The inferential statistical tools applied in this research were correlation analysis and linear regression. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences software (SPSS) version 23 was used to assist in data analysis. The result showed that authentic leadership had a positive significant effect on employee engagement and its dimensions. Based on the findings of this study, it was established that using authentic leadership style could enhance employee engagement. This study contributes to the general understanding of leadership behaviors that are significant in encouraging employee engagement to both practicing and aspiring school leaders and teachers, and professional educator preparation programs.
Key Words: Authentic Leadership, Employee Engagement, Teachers, Principals, Secondary Schools
References
Ardichvili, A., & Manderscheid, S. V. (2008). Emerging practices in leadership development: An introduction. SAGE Publications Sage CA: Los Angeles, CA.
Attridge, M. (2009). Measuring and managing employee work engagement: A review of the research and business literature. Journal of Workplace Behavioral Health, 24(4), 383–398.
Avolio, B. J., & Gardner, W. L. (2005). Authentic leadership development: Getting to the root of positive forms of leadership. The Leadership Quarterly, 16(3), 315–338.
Aydin, A., Sarier, Y., & Uysal, S. (2013). The Effect of School Principals’ Leadership Styles on Teachers’ Organizational Commitment and Job Satisfaction. Educational Sciences: Theory and Practice, 13(2), 806–811.
Bakker, A. B., Hakanen, J. J., Demerouti, E., & Xanthopoulou, D. (2007). Job resources boost work engagement, particularly when job demands are high. Journal of Educational Psychology, 99(2), 274.
Batista-Taran, L. C., Shuck, M. B., Gutierrez, C. C., & Baralt, S. (2013). The role of leadership style in employee engagement.
Bryman, A. (2008). Why do researchers integrate/combine/mesh/blend/mix/merge/fuse quantitative and qualitative research. Advances in Mixed Methods Research, 87–100.
Burke, R. J., & Ng, E. (2006). The changing nature of work and organizations: Implications for human resource management. Human Resource Management Review, 16(2), 86–94.
Cook, S. (2008). The essential guide to employee engagement: better business performance through staff satisfaction. Kogan Page Publishers.
Crabtree, S., & Robison, J. (2013). Engaged Workplaces Are Engines of Job Creation. Gallup Business Journal.
Datche, A. E., & Mukulu, E. (2015). The effects of transformational leadership on employee engagement: A survey of civil service in Kenya. Issues in Business Management and Economics, 3(1), 9–16.
de Mello e Souza Wildermuth, C., & Pauken, P. D. (2008). A perfect match: decoding employee engagement–Part II: engaging jobs and individuals. Industrial and Commercial Training, 40(4), 206–210.
Fleming, J. H., & Asplund, J. (2007). Where employee engagement happens. The Gallup Management Journal, 3(1).
Gardner, W. L., Avolio, B. J., Luthans, F., May, D. R., & Walumbwa, F. (2005). “Can you see the real me?” A self-based model of authentic leader and follower development. The Leadership Quarterly, 16(3), 343–372.
Hewitt, A. (2014). Trends in Global Employee Engagement Report. Analysis Included, 284, 2010–2012.
KHAN, M. I., TUFAILl, M., QADIR, G., & KHAN, S. (2016). Transactional Leadership, Transformational Leadership and Employee Engagement: A Case Study of Banking Sector. Discourse, 2(02).
Kernis, M. H. (2003). Toward a conceptualization of optimal self-esteem. Psychological Inquiry, 14(1), 1–26.
Kothari, C. R. (2004). Research methodology: Methods and techniques. New Age International.
Metzler, J. M. (2006). The relationships between leadership styles and employee engagement.
Mugenda, O., & Mugenda, A. (2003). Quantitative and qualitative approaches: Research methods. Nairobi: Acts Press.
Nwinyokpugi, P. N. (2015). Employee Engagement and Workplace Harmony in Nigeria Civil Service. International Journal of Innovative Research and Development, 4(2).
Popli, S., & Rizvi, I. A. (2016). Drivers of employee engagement: The role of leadership style. Global Business Review, 17(4), 965–979.
Ram, P., & Prabhakar, G. V. (2011). The role of employee engagement in work-related outcomes. Interdisciplinary Journal of Research in Business, 1(3), 47–61.
Shuck, B., & Herd, A. M. (2012). Employee engagement and leadership: Exploring the convergence of two frameworks and implications for leadership development in HRD. Human Resource Development Review, 11(2), 156–181.
Towers, P. (2003). Working today: Understanding what drives employee engagement. Towers Perrin: Stamford CT.
Walumbwa, F. O., Avolio, B. J., Gardner, W. L., Wernsing, T. S., & Peterson, S. J. (2008). Authentic leadership: Development and validation of a theory-based measure. Journal of Management, 34(1), 89–126.
Wang, D.-S., & Hsieh, C.-C. (2013). The effect of authentic leadership on employee trust and employee engagement. Social Behavior and Personality: An International Journal, 41(4), 613–624.
Welch, M. (2011). The evolution of the employee engagement concept: communication implications. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 16(4), 328–346.
Woestman, D. S., & Wasonga, T. A. (2015). Destructive leadership behaviors and workplace attitudes in schools. NASSP Bulletin, 99(2), 147–163.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Authors wishing to include figures, tables, or text passages that have already been published elsewhere are required to obtain permission from the copyright owner(s) for both the print and online format and to include evidence that such permission has been granted when submitting their papers. Any material received without such evidence will be assumed to originate from the authors.
